The Lemming Pokémon
by TheLonelyAbsol
Summary: The epic story of one boy's struggle to find that special pokémon! A dangerous clan, loyal companions, and countless betrayals await! And at the end of the long struggle… What will he find¿ Based on the original Red/Blue games. And it has absolutely nothing to do with Eevee. *whoosh*
1. Chapter 1

_'…And all the other pokémon scorned the one whose only goal was to jump off cliffs, and they sealed away its image and behavior in a special PokéDex entry that can only be read by the prophesied trainer who can catch it… That has yet to happen, however. In fact, no human has even seen it! Though there have been supposed sightings of the ancient pokémon, they all turned out to be different, unique creatures with their own behavior and entries.'_

"But Grampa, how do you know all that if no one's ever found it?"

_"_Shh, I'm getting there!" _The old man chuckles, scanning his storybook to find the place at which he was cut off. '…The mythical pokémon is very lonely, as all the other pokémon shunned it after its hobbies became known. It is said to live in the mountains, near a stream that leads to a waterfall… its favorite type of cliff to leap off of. It awaits its destined trainer, who will one day catch it at the bottom of that waterfall and liberate it from its old life!_

"…This legend has been passed down by Celebi through the years, but few people of this generation still remember it. Maybe its trainer is somewhere out there, right now… I just hope someone finds that secret place, and helps that poor pokémon…"

_The young boy sits silently on his grandfather's lap, thinking. Then, _"What's a Serebii?"

* * *

The boy leaned against Professor Oak's lab, his expression cool and confident. The story he'd been told years ago still burned brightly in his mind, and especially at this moment. He could almost imagine the look on that old man's face when he brought in his PokéDex all filled up with entries, but one in particular. The pokémon that jumped off cliffs… There was no way he wouldn't be able to find it, and no way he wouldn't be able to make up for all the friendship and care it had been denied its whole life!

"Yo, Gary! What's up?"

He whirled at the voice of his least favorite person in the world. "Hey, that's not my name! I keep telling you; it's _Blue_! Got that?"

His self-proclaimed archrival tilted his head in silent contemplation, and several long seconds passed before he finally snapped his fingers. "Oh, right! You're his little cousin!"

"We're the same age, moron. His hair just happens to be an inch higher than mine… And I still say _your _cousin should have switched names with _you_. 'Red Ketchup' would be a much nicer name for little Ash." Blue smirked, watching the boy's face redden.

"Hey! His name is _Ketchum,_ you little punk!" The other boy huffed angrily, unaware that Blue had come close to saying something worse.

Oak's grandson waved a disregarding hand, turning to enter the Lab. No need to anger the Red-Hat Clan for no reason. The instant he opened the door, a blur of motion streaked past him and shot inside. "Whoa, wait up, Gary!"

"See, _there _he is. I knew that kid wouldn't be second to anyone…" Red ceased his pointless muttering, realizing he was all alone outside.

* * *

Oak paced back and forth, coming to a difficult decision. "All right, boys. Since Ash clearly isn't going to show up on time, you can go ahead and fight over the Charmander now."

"It's mine!" Red stepped forward, determination burning in his eyes. "Because he's the same color as-"

"As your blasted name; sure, sure. Then I'm gonna get you, Squirtle!" Gary held out his hands, catching the little ball Oak tossed to him. "Thanks, Gramps."

Blue glared at the other boys. He'd gotten no say in the matter, as usual. At least Ash wasn't on time; then Blue would most certainly have been stuck with the rabid Pikachu his grandfather had caught the other day… At length, he sighed and strode over to the machine. "Am I the only one who's going to give a real name to my life-long partner?"

The other boys stared at him. "How girly," Gary snorted, and Red followed him out the door, chortling in a very unbecoming way. Blue watched them go, his cheeks flushed with anger. His cousin had so little compassion, it was a miracle he was deemed worthy of a pokémon at all!

"Ignore them, kid." Oak patted him on the back with a sympathetic smile. "My grandson can be a little rude sometimes… But I don't think I caught your name! Strange; you look familiar… So, are you a boy or a girl?"

Blue rolled his eyes. Every time he turned his back, Oak was suffering temporary memory lapse. Whenever it happened, the only thing to do was humor the old man. "…I'm a boy. My name's Blue!"

"Blue, is it?" When his grandson nodded, Oak clapped his hands briskly and turned to the pokéball machine. "Well, thank you for volunteering to help me today. And which pokémon would you… Ack! There's only Bulbasaur left! What on Earth… I must have been robbed!"

The boy sighed and retreated to the corner of the room. Professor Oak only got this way when he was alone with Blue, and whenever someone else entered the room, the man recovered his self-awareness instantly. Thus, no one believed the grandson who insisted his grandfather was senile, and the police department got phone calls every few months regarding the monthly missing starter pokémon and Blue had had terrible luck in begging for his own. Though it had started a few years ago, Blue had hopes that the cliff-jumping pokémon would fix the old man's memory for good.

"…Ah well, that's that. You must help me, volunteer boy. I'm too old to chase after the punks that stole those pokémon, but I bet you could do the job just fine!" Oak beamed merrily as he handed Blue the last pokéball. "You look like a good kid. Take this Bulbasaur and fetch those poor pokémon back!"

The boy looked up at him dubiously. This was a welcome turn of events, but… "Don't I get a PokéDex?"

"How do you know about that?! …O-of course not; you're just doing me a favor. Maybe if you do a good enough job, I'll consider it…" Oak frowned. "But I have high standards that you couldn't dream of achieving, sonny."

Blue gazed down at the pokéball hopelessly. His master plan was ending before it even started. How was he supposed to acquire an ancient PokéDex entry if he didn't even have a PokéDex?!

"Oh, and that pokémon isn't free, either. But if you prove yourself worthy of being its trainer…" The Professor shrugged, much to Blue's dismay. Without a pokémon, Blue wouldn't even be able to _find_ the one that jumped off cliffs! Why was the old man so intent on ruining his own memory?!

The door flew open and Ash Ketchum burst in, panting heavily and still dressed in his pajamas. "Hey, Professor! Sorry I'm late!"

"Sorry's not good enough. I already took Bulbasaur," Blue scoffed, recovering from his disappointment long enough to wave his new -if not temporary- pokéball mockingly.

"Blue!" Oak chided, to the boy's great relief. Apparently, his memory had returned with the arrival of Ash Ketchum. "No grandson of mine mocks his fellow trainers!"

Ash shrugged. "No, it's okay. There are still the others, right?" When Oak shook his head sorrowfully, the boy's eyes went wide. "But-! But-! …Hey, kid. Can I _please_ have Bulbasaur?"

"No."

Oak sighed, glaring at Blue as he pressed his secret giant red button on the wall. A dumbwaiter rose up, carrying the rabid Pikachu. The mouse twittered in its cage until Oak opened the latch to take it in his gloved hands. "Here you go, Ash… a freshly caught pokémon, one that requires _great skill_ to control. But, I daresay you could train this Pikachu better than _anyone else_ in this room…"

Blue took the insult silently, maintaining his composure for a few seconds before making a metal note to beat the Pikachu to within an inch of its life with his evolved Venusaur the first chance he got.

"Aww, it's so cute!" Ash squealed, twirling the enraged electric mouse in large circles and giggling without abandon.

"Are you going to nickname it?"

"Of course not! How girly…"

* * *

_'It's over now. No more of Grampa's senile memory loss, and no more of those crazy cousins,' _Blue told himself as he strode through the thick grass of Route 1. _'You're on your own now, with a pokémon in your pocket and a trainer card all your own. And in your hand… your own PokéDex!'_

Oh, the PokéDex… It had taken several minutes to explain to Oak that he still hadn't received one -and in front of Ash, no less! That kid had gotten his right away, along with the nameless Pikachu… _And_ he was allowed a head start on Blue, because of the 'cruel taunting' earlier! Sometimes it seemed the old professor was _trying_ to make Blue hate him!

A rustle in the grass behind him interrupted his musings, and the boy whipped around eagerly. He pulled Bulbasaur's pokéball out of his jeans pocket, his hands shivering with anticipation. Here it was… his first pokémon battle! His first step in finding the mythical pokémon that would heal Grampa forever!

A small brown head popped out of the thick grass and the boy sighed, severely disappointed. Only a weak bird to remember this momentous occasion by… After a quick scan of the area, the wild Pidgey glared warningly at Blue as it flapped slowly into the air. A tiny Rattata dangled from its talons, so badly scratched that it could barely twist about in its captor's firm hold. As he watched in amazement, Blue noticed battle scars on the Pidgey, as well -and they looked fairly recent! Were the wounds from a wild pokémon battle… or had The Red-Hat Clan ganged up on the two pokémon? The Pidgey wouldn't have had much of a chance against the Pikachu…

Blue glanced at his pokéball guiltily. No real trainer would victimize pokémon that had already been beaten up this badly. The Pidgey even looked like it was trying to Fly the poor Rattata away, out of danger! "Sorry, Bulbasaur. I- I still haven't decided on a name for you, so we won't battle this time…" Reluctantly, he pocketed the capsule.

"Pidge!" The sudden cry startled Blue, and he looked up at the struggling bird pokémon with tears in his eyes. He hadn't known being a trainer was going to be so cruel! Why did they have to attack weak pokémon that could barely fight back? These creatures had been set upon so savagely, they were beaten to within an inch of their lives! And yet, the Pidgey was still willing to fight back, to protect its friend…

"Ra~t," the purple creature moaned sadly, almost as if it was speaking to the bird. At length, the Pidgey squawked again and laid its burden gently back into the tall grass. Its head rotated slowly around to glower at the young trainer.

Blue took a wary step back. Watching the heartbreaking scene had completely destroyed his will to fight, and he was also not about to send out Bulbasaur against a pokémon with a type advantage. "Hey now, just fly away… I won't hurt you guys, I promise!" In response to his pleading, the Pidgey dropped to the ground and waddled furiously up to his shoes.

"Pidge! Pidge!" It leapt up again, flapping its wings frantically to kick up a small dust storm. Blue watched helplessly, his fingers clenched tightly around Bulbasaur's pokéball. He allowed the bird to keep up the Sand Attacks, gritting his teeth and reminding himself that he couldn't be hurt as badly as the Rattata had been. After just moments, he couldn't see anything but the torn wings slicing through the air in front of him…

Torn wings? "You're hurt!" Blue cried, understanding instantly. "Your wings are still injured from a battle, so you can't fly very well! Is that what you're trying to show me?" The Rattata squeaked plaintively from somewhere in the grass, its cry causing the rhythmic flapping of the wings to skip a beat. Now Blue understood what was going on… The Pidgey wanted to be healed so it could fly again, and carry the Rattata away from the bullying grounds!

"Erm, sorry… I'm new to this trainer thing, so all I have is a Potion here… Would you like it?" As he coughed out the last of the dust in his lungs, Blue offered his purple bottle to where he had seen the Pidgey last. A short shriek rang out, and the Potion was pulled from his hand.

As the wind died down, the first thing Blue saw was the purple liquid sliding down the throat of the Rattata. The Pidgey was holding it aloft, dangling it by its talons so the rat could drink with ease. "Pidge," it chirped happily, after a grateful nod to the boy. When the bottle was empty, the bird nudged its friend and took to the air one last time.

Blue yelped as little claws dug into his legs. Looking down, he saw the healed Rattata squealing up to the Pidgey that was now perched on his shoulder. "Wait, little guy… you're leaving your friend behind? Why would you…" He trailed off, seeing the determination burning in the fierce brown eyes. The same fire was visible in the little rat, as well, and for the same reason: Both of them wanted to pay back the boys who had attacked them so mercilessly, and they both knew the Pidgey was the only one capable of doing it.

"I'm sorry… I told you I'm new to this trainer business. The thing is… I don't have a pokéball for you," Blue admitted, rubbing his sore throat. The two pokémon simply stared at him. "W-what?! It's not like I can just… aw, what the heck."


	2. Chapter 2

Nurse Joy looked up wearily as the PokéCenter doors slid open for the sixteenth time that morning. "Yes, and how can I help you now?" She sighed, expecting the boy in the red baseball cap to stumble in again, with his poor starter pokémon two hit points from fainting.

"Pidge!" The nurse blinked in surprise to see the rude boy stumbling in instead, sporting a Pidgey on his shoulder and much less confidence than before.

He stopped a few meters in front of the counter to take the bird pokémon into his arms, then brought it up to Joy. "Could you, um, please heal this Pidgey?"

"Of course, Gary." Taking the pokémon gently, she stroked it as she continued; "But didn't I tell you that this would happen? You should have brought more Potions-" She broke off, startled by the dark look that came across the boy's face.

"I'll make them pay… Pikachu, and all of them!" He lurched to the side suddenly, nearly falling over.

Nurse Joy hurriedly set down the Pidgey on Chansey's stretcher and leaned over the countertop. "What's wrong?! Are you all right, Gary?"

"I'm not… Gary," he growled, struggling to straighten up and glare at her. The attempt at fierceness was marred by how wildly he was shaking, and the chalky-pale color his face was becoming.

"Sure you aren't," Joy chuckled nervously, turning to her personal PC to type out a message to the Union Nurses: '_We've got a Code 909 in the lobby. Repeat: Code 909 in the lobby.'_ Finished, she lifted her head to see the boy passed out cold on the floor. "Eh…?"

A few moments later, four nurses swarmed up to the counter, all completely identical to Nurse Joy but for the color of their uniforms and hair. "Code 909!" They squealed, lifting the boy into a stretcher and hustling him away. The Pidgey in Chansey's care pulled away from the Moo-Moo Milk it was being fed and flapped back to the counter, squawking indignantly.

"No, no, little birdy!" A nurse in a blue hat waggled her finger at the startled bird. "Code 909 is a human emergency, meaning that trainers are more seriously injured than their pokémon! … But this kid actually looks like a pokémon injured _him. _He can't breathe at all for some reason, so we're going to have to perform emergency treatment right away!"

"Let him die."

Nurse Joy glared at the intruder. "Oh, get out, Ash!" She watched the other nurses carry their unconscious ward down the secret staircase, wishing she could be with them. Saving Gary's life would be better than putting up with Ash any day…

"The name's Red, actually. And I must say, your beauty has struck me cold, miss." He pulled his cap off, taking her hand in his to kiss it tenderly. "Maybe you could spare a little hug to warm me up?"

Oh, heavens. This kid was worse than Ash and Gary combined! "Get out," she ordered, yanking her hand away from him and the echoing remains of the worst pick-up line in the history of her nursing career. "If you don't have any injured pokémon…"

"Oh, but I do, Miss! Get a load of this purple rat!" He held up a battered Rattata, sending the Pidgey on the counter into fits of furious rage. "I almost obliterated it completely for experience points, but then I saw a stronger pokémon…"

Joy nodded sweetly, taking the pokémon behind the counter to scan with her machine. It was one hit point from fainting, yet there were recent Potion stains on its whiskers. The 'Red' child couldn't have done it… Thoughtful, she sneaked a glance at the enraged Pidgey. Could it be…?

"I don't want that thing back, by the way. Think of it as my little gift to you." Red smiled flirtingly, dropping an open pokéball on the counter. Though his countenance was serene, the nurse couldn't help but notice the sinister way he glanced at Gary's Pidgey. "I already have Charmander… Go! Use Fire Blast!"

Nurse Joy yelped and jumped back, which was been just what the boy had wanted. He quickly threw a different pokéball, sending out his Charmander. The little lizard roared, shooting a giant sphere of blazing flames straight for the unsuspecting Pidgey.

**"RA~T!"**

* * *

The secret basement was rarely used, but this was a rare occasion. The bulk boxes of Moo-Moo Milk had been pushed aside to make room for the fold-up hospital bed, and a large desk in the back had been pulled out to provide support for several thick binders.

The boy on the cot stirred, his body shuddering as he took shaky breaths through the inhaler in his mouth. The cluster of nurses leaned over him, worried. "Think he's going to wake up soon?" The blue-haired nurse seemed most concerned; she felt she owed it to the boy's Pidgey to have him restored to full health before taking him back upstairs.

"It's too soon, Zelfy. He'd fainted right before we took him from Mesprit two minutes ago, and we only just finished our special Heal Bell treatment. This is our first time, so have patience." The nurse at the machines patted her yellow hat wearily. "It's been a while since we've had real human interaction; you forget how fragile trainers are."

The white hats in the corner nodded. Being assistants to the legendary pokémon of Viridian City's PokeCenter, the normal nurses often needed only to nod encouragement to the creatures who still didn't quite understand everything about the human world. "Yes, he'll be perfectly fine in an hour or two."

"Not nearly so long!" Azelf cried, her human image flickering briefly as she protested against her underlings.

"Hey, you represent willpower. You ought to act more like it, and maybe this kid will follow your example!" Uxie grinned cheekily, ducking as Azelf's blue hat flew at her face. "Watch it, Zelfy. You'll wake him up!"

Dark sapphire eyes glared back at her. "That's what I'm trying to do."

"Why, you-!"

The poor nurses looked back and forth as the argument ensued. Both pokémon soon dropped their human Substitutes and went at it without abandon. Slashes, Quick Attacks, Psychics, and fierce Growls filled the room as the women watched in petrified fear.

"Wh-what…?"

The room fell instantly silent and everyone turned to stare at the small hospital cot in which the boy was now sitting up. Uxie and Azelf dropped back into their nurse facades and tilted their heads cheerfully. _"Oh, you're awake!"_ They chorused, folding their smoking hands behind their backs until the disguises were complete. _"How are you feeling right now?"_

"Um, I'm all right, I guess… but what's going on?" The boy frowned as he performed a quick scan of the room, his gaze lingering especially on the high-tech hospital equipment and the inhaler that had fallen from his mouth. "Where is this place?"

Azelf giggled nervously, stretching out a hand to help him get out of the cot. "You passed out in the PokéCenter, dear, so we've taken you below the Ground Floor. Before you go back up, would you mind telling us your name and profession, please? It's for the record books."

"Blue Willow, ma'am… but I think it would be obvious that I'm a pokémon trainer."

Uxie nodded sagely. "It's for the record books… But what happened to you? That's called an asthma attack, right?"

"That's called a Pidgey swept dirt into my lungs," he retorted sharply, dropping her hand and stumbling to his feet alone. His cheeks burned at the thought of her thinking him to have such a weakening disease like Gary's. If only that bird hadn't… "Hey! Where's my pokémon?"

The ladies blinked, unsure at first how to respond to the ingrate. "…Upstairs, resting from its recent battles."

Uxie wrung her hands as a disturbing thought occurred to her. "If it attacked you… _you_ didn't inflict its wounds, did you?" He certainly seemed capable of being an abusive trainer, like the ones Mesprit watched on the television. What if they had been wrong in helping the boy?

Blue whirled around, startling the nurses with his furious glare. "Why would I do such a thing?! I'm a trainer! The ones who did that… those were-"

**"PWIIIDGEEEEY!"**

The boy looked up, stricken. A Pidgey's mournful wail had made its way through the floorboards, and he knew exactly who it was. "Colin!" Without questioning where the spontaneous name had come from, Blue dashed for the stairs and was gone in moments.

Azelf turned away from her desk, watching the his receding figure break out into the sunlight shining through the windows of Ground Floor. If only, if only…

* * *

Nurse Joy lay stretched out on the counter, bawling her eyes out. "Why?! Why does such a cruel person exist? And how?!" As Blue neared her, he noticed the small purple tail sticking out from under her chest. A sick feeling in his stomach, he tapped her on the shoulder.

Unfocused yellow eyes glared up at him. He took a step back, surprised. "Erm… what are you doing…?"

"I'm so sorry," she cried, turning back to the Pidgey next to her and completely ignoring Blue. "I can't do anything for her at this point… so please put your mind at ease knowing that she cared more about you than life itself."

The boy blinked, peering over her shoulder. White whiskers poked out from beneath the nurse's head, twitching sporadically. "Is that…?"

"It took guts to stand up to that fiery beast, but she did it for you. So you could keep on living happily."

He frowned. 'Fiery beast'? "Pardon me, but-"

"I'm sure you two loved each other enough, and if you believe in Heaven… I know she's there with Arceus, right now…"

Blue tapped her again. "Excuse me, but what-"

"FOR MEW'S SAKE, WOULD YOU JUST **SHUT UP** ALREADY!" Joy turned on Blue, dark golden eyes flaring and her hair unfurling into four large ponytatails. "Can't you _see_?! Even a four-year-old would understand this situation perfectly! This Pidgey here; it was very close to this Rattata, and now it's… now that kid has gone and…"

She pulled herself from the counter, settling back into her seat to cry harder and let Blue take in the sight. Tears pooled in his own eyes, and he sank to his knees in front of the charred remains of the level-four Rattata; Colin's friend… and savior. "Who…?" He dropped his gaze to the ground, frightened of incurring Joy's wrath if he spoke out of turn again. Staring at the tiles instead, he caught sight of several dirty footprints in front of him, which he followed across the floor to the sliding doors… And there, visible from the window, _he_ stood.

Ash Ketchum tilted his hat cheekily before striding away; Pikachu on his left and Red and Charmander on his right. The second boy winked at Blue, smirking to himself as he followed his fellow Red-Hat. As they walked away, Ash's Pikachu flicked him off without even turning around. Blue's face burned as he stood up. "…Colin."

The Pidgey chirped sadly, hopping onto his shoulder with one last glance at the Rattata's blackened body. "We're going now. We have a lot of training to-" Blue coughed suddenly, making Nurse Joy look up in concern. "…Gah, I'm okay. We just… We have to get stronger if we want to avenge your friend."

Colin was still worried. Azelf's words had made it all the more clear to him that he could hurt Blue without even trying; the trainer was still suffering from the Sand Attack that hadn't even been intended to wound him! And yet, Blue kept going… all so Colin could avenge the Mean Boys for what they did to him and Rattata…

"You ready to go, boy? …All right, but I'll have to introduce you to someone first." The trainer pulled a capsule out of his pocket and threw it onto the ground. "Actually, even _I_ haven't met this one yet… So come on out and introduce yourself, Bulbasaur!"

Joy's eyes widened as the ball burst open, exploding on the floor in a dazzling display of sparkling light. "Is that a-! Oh, wow! A Bulbasaur!"

The reptilian creature hopped about on the floor, twirling the bulb on his back until Blue picked him up. The trainer found it a bit odd that his pokémon's scales were shimmering yellow, but he brushed it off as one of those things. "Heh… If you want to, I guess you can name him. I actually haven't thought of anything yet…" Blue scratched the back of his head nervously, suddenly uncertain about the glint in the woman's yellow eyes.

"Balthazar," she stated firmly. "Balthazar… Can I please hold him?" She stretched out her arms, and Blue reluctantly handed over his pokémon.

Uxie's head popped out from the trapdoor. She glared warningly at her sister until she, too, caught sight of the yellow pokémon. "Oooh! Who do we have here?"

"This is Blue's Balthazar; Bulba- I mean, Blue's Bulbasaur; Balthazar." The pokémon in her arms barked huskily, the bulb on his back trembling with contentment as he received several thorough face rubs. The woman smiled back at him, making several strange grunts of her own. Balthazar squealed, and the two seemed to carry out a whole conversation before Mesprit remembered that she was being watched. "Oh, um… sorry?"

It was too late. Pink hair stretched out to curl at the ends as the Substitute faded away, and Blue finally understood that the nurses were not what they appeared… With a start, he realized that the conversation could easily be turning his own pokémon against him! He had to get Balthazar out of there!

"He's already got a girlfriend," the boy cried, butting in and ripping his pokémon out of the creature's stubby hands. "I don't know what you are, but he's not interested! Come on, let's go!" He bolted for the door, a flustered Colin close behind him. The Pidgey risked a last glance at the strange pokémon who had helped him and his trainer, and was startled to see tears in their eyes.

The yellow-haired pixie was floating around the pink one, berating it mournfully. "Aww, why'd you have to drop the act? Now that boy, Blue… He's gone, and our plan…" She wiped her eyes, whimpering quietly. "We were so close!"

"I know, I'm sorry!" The pink fairy bawled, drifting up to the rafters to bemoan her life. "But it's been so long since we've gotten to talk with other pokémon, and that little baby…"

Tufts of blue hair poked out of the floor where the trapdoor was situated. "What's going on? Hey! Where'd Blue go?"

"He left," Uxie muttered. She leaned against the PC glumly. "We were so close to escaping this place, and then Messy here lost it. And… we're also stuck with a dead body, apparently."

"WHAT?!" With a swish of her tails, Azelf soared up to the counter and gathered the Rattata in her arms. "Who…?"

Her pink sister smiled bitterly to see the same reaction as the previous viewer. "I'll explain later. We must hold a funeral first, so she can return to Father Arceus as soon as possible…"

The others nodded, turning their heads respectfully away as Mesprit began to cry again. "We know you tried," Uxie muttered. "It's not your fault. All we can do now is hope Blue comes back…"


	3. Chapter 3

Red kicked a pile of leaves absent-mindedly, stewing about how his trek through Route 3 had grown considerably worse after he'd lost track of Ash. Charmander was currently doing well, but if he ran out of PP again… Red wasn't sure if he would be treated in the Viridian City's PokéCenter, after what he did to that Rattata. Not that he cared about the purple rat. That worthless pokémon had been on its last leg anyway, and no one would have wanted it anyway…

"Hey, you! Get back here!"

He sighed, turning around to face the nuisance. "I beat you, on the wager of £200! You still owe me," the girl hissed, crossing her arms. "Just because you forfeited doesn't mean you're exempt from the bill!"

"I don't care," Red growled, turning around again to keep walking. What had possessed him to run away from his battle back there with that trainer girl?! "I was just trying to save PP. Be glad I didn't knock your pokémon out right then and there!"

She smirked, tossing her short red hair as she pulled two pokéballs out of her bag. "Sure it wasn't because you're… afraid of ghosts?" Her Gastly and Haunter burst out of the capsules, grinning menacingly at the boy. "Aww… See how happy they are to see you again? I think they want to play!"

"Eh… No, thanks," Red muttered, breaking into a trot. "Too busy right now… Charmander, do something!" The fire lizard scampered away before him, shaking its head fearfully. Unfortunately for Red, his pokémon had taken after him perfectly…

The girl rolled around on the grass, shaking with laughter as the Haunter and the Gastly chased the two boys down Route 2. "I just can't believe it! Boys that are afraid of ghosts! And those two acted so tough, I thought Bella and Anne would finally gain some experience points…" Taking off her bag to find her wallet, she chuckled in anticipation of its future holdings.

Their prey having escaped down a side path, Anne the Haunter and Bella the Gastly returned to the trainer girl with the £200 Red had dropped in his panic. "Good job, you two… but Anne, when are you going to evolve? I'm sure your evolution will look just great, but if you don't evolve soon, I might have to let you go…" She stared off into the distance; back at Viridian City. Something caught her attention, and she stood up abruptly and ran off. Bella floated after her, puzzled but obliging, while Anne just stayed where she was and sulked.

"Ohmygoodness, is that a Bulbasaur?! It's so cute! What's its name? How old is it? Can I pet it? Is that aPokéDex?! Ooh! What's Bulbasaur's PokéDex entry?! Do you like Ghost-types?"

Blue hugged Balthazar to his chest, edging around the girl warily. "A-are you normal? You're not a pokémon, are you?"

"Ooh, answering questions with questions," she giggled, peering at the screen of the PokéDex. Bella finally caught up with her and hovered above her head to stare at the device, as well.

"Well, I suppose you seem nice enough," the boy sighed at length. "Yes, it is a PokéDex… And this is Balthazar, but I actually just got him a few hours ago. Er, my name's Blue, by the way. What's yours?" He looked away, rubbing Balthazar on the head nervously. He was unused to talking to girls; a sad result of many years of pain and torture under the Red-Hat Clan.

The girl smiled up at him, blue eyes sparkling as she patted her own pokémon. It didn't seem to matter to her that her hand passed right through the little ghost. "It's Silver, but please just call me Sylvia. This here is Bella, and Anne is back there." She gestured to a tree far behind her, where a dark purple speck was barely visible. "I noticed your PokéDex doesn't have Haunter registered… I could trade you Anne for a moment, if you want."

Blue was about to graciously agree when a thought occurred to him. "Wait… You're after Balthazar, aren't you? Are you sure you're going to trade him back once I've got Haunter's data?" Sylvia grinned mysteriously, and Bella copied the look. Two rows of ghastly Gastly fangs were enough to persuade him. "All right. Let's start this, then! …Um, how do trainers trade, again…?"

"You're funny. Just hand me that pokéball, and I'll hand you mine… Oops! I forgot I don't have Anne's pokéball with me… Be right back!" Sylvia shot off; Bella spiraling through the air above her. Blue watched them go, more than a little bewildered.

"Pidge!" Colin dropped out of the sky, banking in front of the trainer to glare peevishly at him. A Caterpie skin hung from his beak; the remnants of his meal. Blue winced guiltily. He should have fed the Pidgey before the bird had resorted to hunting for itself…

"Hey, back off!" Sylvia rushed up, waving her hands at Colin. "Look out, Blue! Be careful. This is a flying-type, and it can seriously hurt Balthazar… He's part-grass! Get away, you!" Colin screeched, rising up to flap his wings angrily before recalling what happened last time. With a sheepish look at Blue, he folded his wings and shuffled behind the trainer on foot.

At a slightly higher altitude, Blue pleaded with the enigmatic girl, trying to stop her from ordering a ghost attack on his Pidgey. "Look, Sylvia… I know he's not in a pokéball, but Colin is my Pidgey all the same. He's not fighting, see? That's because I haven't told him to! …And please tell Bella to back off; she's scaring him."

The girl finally dropped her arms, glaring at Colin. Anne chose that moment to float over, raising her detached hands at Colin menacingly. "Haunt… Anne Haunt!"

"Geeeeeey!" Colin shrieked, taking off into the air to escape the new threat. Anne soared after him, eager for the pursuit until a scaly Caterpie corpse was dropped in her face. Colin chortled at her confusion as he swept to the right, sending a swift Whirlwind at his weightless enemy to blow her away.

"Bravo, Colin! Good job!" Blue cheered as the triumphant victor returned to Earth. Anne came floating glumly back, returning to Sylvia's pokéball moments later. Blue's proud expression turned to one of shock and surprise as his bird suddenly began shedding feathers like a Persian's coat after a thick shampoo. "What's wrong?! Are you sick, boy?"

Sylvia slipped the PokéDex out of Blue's pocket and gasped. "Nothing's wrong with him… Your Pidgey is evolving!"

"Whoa, really?! I've seen evolutions on television before, but this is my first time seeing one up close." Blue leaned in, watching Colin molt until the bird had no feathers at all. "Urm… maybe there's a reason why Pidgey haven't been filmed…" Colin gave him a death glare as the trainer turned around to feign puking, but his gaze fell back to his body in dismay. He'd thought he could manage the transformation, but the new feathers he'd been trying for just weren't growing in…

His muscles bulged suddenly, and Colin turned to Blue with a squawk. His eyes met only his trainer's back; the boy was conversing with Sylvia again, about how to trade pokémon. "Pidge…"

"So, here you go! Now hand me Balthazar, and… we're done!" Sylvia snickered, gripping her new pokéball with fingers that had no intentions of returning it. "Well, thanks… and I'll be off! Come on, Bella!" She dashed away, the PokéDex still in her possession.

"Wait!" Blue reached after her longingly, then looked down at Sylvia's pokéball. How had he fallen for such an obvious scam?! What was he going to do now, with one pokémon stuck mid-evolution and one half-beaten? …And the PokéDex stolen…

He started as the ball began to rock on his palm; starting off at a slow shake and working its way up until it rolled right out of his hand. Anne burst out, enveloped in a swirling purple mist. "Anne… Genga!" Several seconds passed before he realized what was going on.

"You're evolving! Just like-" The boy had been about to point at Colin, but his bird was nowhere in sight. Not even a potential evolution was to be seen. "What! Did that girl steal him, too?!"

* * *

Bella drifted after her trainer, glancing behind them every few seconds. Even though her brain wasn't fully developed, she had enough sense of right and wrong to know that what Roxie had just done had not been kind at all. And as for her mother, Anne…

**"PWIIIDGEOTTO!"**

Sylvia whirled around, back-pedalling to maintain her distance from the team she'd just robbed. "Oh, it's you… Have you come to join my team?"

Colin only pumped his wings harder, seething with rage. His sleek new body shot through the air, powered by his indignance at all the wrongs he had suffered. First the Mean Boys beating up Rattata; then her death… and now this! If his friends were all suffering only because of their connection to him, then Colin was going to help! "Pwidgeotto!"

"Hey, stop!" Sylvia began swatting as soon as he caught up to her, but the girl was no match for his newfound agility. He swooped in over her, snatching Blue's PokéDex out of her hands as she ran. "Give that back!"

Bella didn't understand what was going on, but she knew it had something to do with her trainer's mean behavior. Now that someone was taking their vengeance, the little Gastly didn't want anything to do with it. Without a word, she retreated to her private pokéball in Sylvia's pocket. It was the trainer's own fault…

"Go! Balthazar, beat this little bird back to where it came from!" The girl threw her stolen pokéball, but the Bulbasaur that popped out looked like he would rather team up with the Pidgeotto. He sat down, glaring back at Sylvia and raising a thin vine threateningly. "Come on, beat it," she whined.

Balthazar was only too happy to do so. Having essentially been told he was released, the little yellow pokémon bounded away, sparkling all the way back to Blue's side. "Zar!"

"You came back, buddy? How…" Catching a falling feather, the trainer looked up to see Colin in all his evolutionary magnificence hovering over him. "…Thank you, Colin. You look great, by the way. I bet you could even beat the Red-Hat Clan now!" He knelt to pat his returned pokémon lovingly, but a low growl from his right made him pause.

"Oh, right! This is Anne; Sylvia's… Gengar. She evolved after we traded." Blue scratched the back of his head reluctantly. "Since we don't know where Sylvia went, we'll just have to accept her into the party for now… Though it feels like stealing."

Balthazar shrugged, opening his mouth halfway to grin up at his trainer. He was fine with whatever Blue decided to do, so long as he got his vengeance on the rude girl who'd tried to kidnap him. "Bulbazar!"

Grunting in agreement, the trainer took his PokéDex back from Colin and slipped it into his bag. No one was going to touch his things anymore, if he could help it! "All right then, guys. You ready to find Sylvia now?" A chorus of cries answered him, and the party proceeded with its quest for justice.

* * *

It didn't take long for Anne to find her trainer. Sylvia was huddled by the side of the road, sobbing bitterly and hugging Bella for all the valiant attempt was worth. "Why did I ever try to take that shiny Bulbasaur when Squirtle is my absolute favorite?! I'm so sorry, dear! Now your mother is gone, and all for naught…"

"Excuse me, ma'am. Are you looking for this pokémon?" Blue grinned, catching up with Anne and stopping next to her. "She sure isn't mine…"

Sylvia's eyes widened, and she held out her arms for an empty embrace with the Gengar. "Oh, thank you, Blue! …Anne, you finally evolved! Was trading the trigger, this whole time? Oh, Anne… I'm sorry I ever left you!" The scene was too heartwarming for Balthazar, and he quickly forgot all about his thirst for revenge; instead cuddling up to his own trainer to purr softly against his leg.

"So, no hard feelings?" Blue flashed a thumbs up at the girl, and she nodded furiously. An idea began to take shape in his mind, so he continued; "Are you sure?" Roxie nodded again, running her fingers through Anne's head as she studied the new Gengar's anatomy.

"So, we're pretty much friends now, or at least acquaintances…?" Blue sucked in a deep breath, deciding to just blurt it out. "Could you direct me to a waterfall?"

* * *

"I'm sorry this is all I can do." Sylvia bit her lip, lowering her eyes apologetically as Blue caught sight of the 'waterfall'.

He tried not to show his disappointment, but his hopes were brutally crushed. A small trickle of water streaming over a curb couldn't wash away a Rattata; much less an ancient cliff-jumper. "…It's all right. It was an outrageous request. I knew this region has about zero waterfalls…"

"I'm really sorry, Blue… For trying to steal Balthazar, and everything!" Sylvia hung her head, expressing such sincere regret that Blue actually felt sorry for the girl who had nearly taken everything from him. He nodded, unsure how to respond with his unfamiliar feelings of pity.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure something will turn up eventually," he muttered, turning to go. She grabbed him by the shoulder, expression grave.

"I promise you, Blue. In return for your kind heart and forgiveness, no matter how long it takes, I _will_ find you a waterfall!"


	4. Chapter 4

"'No matter how long it takes,' eh, Colin? Isn't that what she said?" The rugged teenager tossed a pokéball into the air, letting the Pidgeot catch it. "…Not that I blame her. Becoming Champion doesn't take nearly as long as they say it does, and Syl is probably still scouting out that new region…"

"Pwidge," his companion responded, dropping the capsule into the trainer's hand. At level 81, the bird was not the same pokémon that had cowered in fear before two boys in crimson baseball caps so long ago. His muscles now bulged larger than those of the average Pidgeot, and his wingspan was well over nine feet. The only thing that hadn't changed about him was the slight knot in his beak, where a certain Pikachu had knocked him into a tree with Volt Tackle many battles ago…

Blue finally released his pent-up breath, losing it to the humid air of Cinnabar Island. "I've finally accepted it, buddy. It was childish to believe a little twerp like her could ever find such a rare landmark and manage to report back to me. I haven't even seen her since that first encounter with Giovanni; when she left to go explore Johto. I doubt she even knows I beat the Red-Hat Clan, or that I finally became the Champion! Maybe… Maybe she was even lying to me all that time ago, and only made the promise in order to save her own skin… Let's face the facts, boy. She's never going to come."

"_Pwidge_!"

"No way, you're not going to convince me this time! You got my hopes up last month, and it turned out to be some Beauty that you had the hots for!" The Champion kicked a rock savagely, disgusted by the memory. "And she wasn't even your age…" He trailed off, following the path of the bouncing stone down the hillside; all the way to… "Sylvia?!"

A lone figure was stumbling up the slope, ripped bag and soiled jacket pounding against her side as she made her way up. Even visible from the peak of Blue's mount, the thirteen gym badges flashing from the inner pocket of her vest were blatantly visible. Sylvia had certainly been busy in the past few months…

"Sorry I took so long," she panted upon reaching the summit. Balthazar released himself from his pokéball to nuzzle the former enemy until she caught her breath. "I heard about your accomplishment a while back, but I didn't have the time to visit. So, congratulations, Blue! And… I've got good news! There was actually a waterfall right under our noses this whole time!"

The boy shook his head, disbelieving. "If you knew that, why did you visit Johto?"

"Well… I only just found out. See, I was revisiting Mount Moon to check on a Clefairy I released up there a while back, and he showed me a big chamber I'd never seen before!" Sylvia scratched the back of her head nervously, tossing red locks much longer than those she had had upon her first encounter with Blue. "Then Nurse Joy came up and talked with me, and I kinda got the feeling I wasn't supposed to be in there…" She hesitated, leaning back against Balthazar's tree.

"Keep going," the Champion pressed, feeling her confidence wavering. "I won't tell anyone; I promise! What was in that chamber?!"

She averted her eyes, looking at the ground. Suddenly she leapt at him, dark eyes full of mirth. "A waterfall, silly! What did you think I was going to say?"

He raised an eyebrow at her from where he'd dropped to the ground reflexively. Too many Team Rocket encounters… "Was that really necessary? You were jumping at the Champion in such a childish way when I barely know you. Colin would have ripped your face off in moments if he'd thought there was real danger!" Blue staggered to his feet, glaring peevishly back at the Pidgeot who was preening himself several meters away. "The point is-"

"The point is, he _didn't_," Sylvia quipped, pushing him over as soon as he was upright again. "Anyway, I'm dead tired, and downright sick of the _'thrill of adventure.'_ No point in standing when I could be sleeping," she groaned, flopping down beside him.

He sighed in defeat, letting his head drop back into the grass. It was clear that the girl had been pushing herself hard. How was he going to make it up to her? "Thank you, Syl… You don't know how much-"

"How much this means to you? Oh, I think I do," the lump next to him muttered. "The only reason you want to find this waterfall is so you can capture the mythical pokémon that jumps off cliffs, right?" Blue remained silent. How had she known? "Well, I didn't see it anywhere… but that may have been because I wasn't searching for it at all. I'm leaving that bit to you," Sylvia said with a wink. "I had my work cut out for me with making a map of the place! Here ya go!" She rolled over, rummaging through her bag to pull out a tattered piece of paper. "Good luck."

Blue accepted the parchment with trembling fingers. With this, the cliff-jumping pokémon was as good as his! "Sylvia, I…"

"Just leave, already! I know you're dying to!" Sylvia laughed, shoving her friend playfully as he stood back up.

Raising Colin's pokéball into the air, he nodded at her. "So long, Rox… and thanks. …Let's go, buddy!" In a flurry of wind and feathers, he was gone.

Balthazar roared after him, outraged at being left behind. "Don't worry, big guy," Sylvia chuckled. She patted the Venusaur endearingly, slipping a pokéball out of her pocket. "I'll take much better care of you than that jerk…"

* * *

"Well, Sylvia's map says there should be a secret tunnel right about… here?" Blue scratched his head, looking to Colin in bemusement. "I don't see any way in. Think we should ask for directions?" His bird didn't respond; instead staring intently at the cave entrance they'd come in through. "Is that…?"

A lonesome figure stomped into the darkness, pink hair curling up in the damp air of Mount Moon's largest cave. Her nurse's uniform stuck out against the dull colors of the walls, and Blue recognized her instantly. "Hey, Joy. What do you want now?" After assuring herself that no one else was around, the pokémon resumed her natural form and floated indignantly up to Blue.

"I want _you_ to _leave_, young man! Who gave you permission to vandalize this historical landmark again?"

He winced at that; his last visit had left behind many scars in the rock faces, ranging from Colin's numerous battles with Zubat to the boredom of his Bulbazar. "Look, I'm still sorry about that… but I'll only be here for a while! Please, it's urgent business!"

Joy didn't look convinced. Flipping her tails impatiently, she pointed up to a jagged crack in the ceiling. "You said you'd fix that, and that you wouldn't come back until you knew how. Your return… must mean you've figured out a way to melt stone together?"

He sighed in exasperation. "I told you; just get a Slugma to use cooled lava to fix that harmless crack!" Turning back to the solid rock wall, he pleaded, "I'll just be a minute longer, I promise. I'm looking for a special pokémon…"

Joy rolled her eyes. "You'll never find it."

"And who says I won't?!"

"It's not here!" The Mesprit risked a nervous glance at the hole leading back outside before turning sad yellow eyes on the boy. "I know what you're trying to do here, but you won't ever find that pokémon! I'm sorry, Blue… I- I lied to your friend."

Blue shook his head. "What?! Joy, what on Earth are you talking about? And be honest, please…" He locked eyes with the pokémon and found himself absorbed in their infinite deepness.

After countless visits to PokéCenters all around Kanto, the phony nurse had revealed that she and her sisters were legendary pokémon who had disobeyed Arceus long ago. Their punishment was to take on the role of Pokémon Nurses in his world; a job that no sane creature desired. As legendary pokémon, it was grueling work; requiring countless intelligent clones throughout Kanto that sapped the real pokémons' strength. Their only way out of the job was to befriend a trainer and become part of their team…

"Blue, did you hear me?" Joy's voice cut his reminiscing short, and he shrugged. She fluttered up to him, her expression grave. "I was saying, that pokémon has never set foot in Kanto! I don't know how that girl knew about the Waterfall Legend, but when she asked me if I knew where the ancient pokémon was, I couldn't turn down that desperate face! So I…" The Champion raised an eyebrow, goading her on. "…I made up a story about the creature being in the waterfall cave here! She started making a map, so I let her be… I'm sorry. I didn't know she was doing this for you, or I would never have done such a terrible thing!"

Blue sighed, pocketing the tattered paper Sylvia had given him. "So, the waterfall bit is true… but the part about the pokémon isn't?"

"Sorry…" Joy turned away sorrowfully. "The pokémon that jumps off cliffs does not, and never will, live here."

"I see." This was an unwelcome turn of events, and Blue was feeling a powerful pull to return to Cinnabar. He fought it, instead turning to the Pidgeot by his side. "Well, we can still go see the pretty waterfall. How about it, Colin?"

Joy wasn't too keen on the idea. "Look, I know you came out all this way, taking a lot of time from your duty as Champion. Shouldn't you be getting back to that, instead? There must be tons of trainers to battle. And it's a shame that you'll be taking on challengers for the rest of your career. There'll be no time to search for the cliff-jumping myth, huh? Good thing you have a little ghost-lover to help you!" Engaged, Blue whirled on her, but she continued, "And remember; the pokémon is destined to only one master. Even though you're the Champion, you have no right to believe that you're it!"

"Grrrr… Shut it! Like you know anything about destiny! You're just a naughty little pokémon who back-stabs its own kind to get what it wants!"

"You don't know anything about that…" The Mesprit grit her teeth, seriously considering blasting the boy with Psychic. "We may have been a bit too cruel, but we didn't mean any harm…" She broke off and averted her eyes, stopping herself before she revealed too much.

Brown eyes narrowed, and the Champion stepped forward warily. "'Didn't mean any harm' to _what_? What aren't you telling me, Joy?!" Colin squawked, realizing the unspoken truth almost as quickly as his trainer.

"I'm sorry!" She squeaked as she backed away towards the exit. "We were forbidden to tell… Please disregard everything I just said!"

He nodded knowingly. The loophole was too good to ignore. "Even that part about you _lying _to my dear friend Sylvia? Should I disregard that, too?" He grinned to see Mesprit stop mid-swish, her small body drifting slowly to the ground in silent dismay as she realized her error. "…I thought so. You let something slip, didn't you? 'What you didn't mean any harm to' wouldn't happen to be the pokémon that jumps off cliffs, now would it?"

"Eep! I, well, that, umm…" Joy stuttered, waving her little arms as she struggled to get into the air again. "That would be…"

"That would be completely correct." Azelf materialised out of the shadows, her oddly-shaped head easily distinguishable from that of the Uxie right behind her. "You nailed it, Blue, just like I said you would! Which reminds me, Ux… five Oran Berries."

As the yellow pokémon payed off her gambling debt, Blue glared accusingly at Mesprit until she hung her head. "I'm very sorry. But when I realized what that girl was doing, I just _had_ to make up a story so you wouldn't find _her…"_ She shuddered, unable to continue for the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"We know it's hard to understand," Uxie piped up in the awkward silence. "It's just, we're all quite jealous that _her _time is coming before ours… She was always Father Arceus' favorite, even though he couldn't help her all that time ago…"

"Pardon me, but what are you talking about?" The Champion scanned each downcast face, but could glean no information from them other than what he already knew. _"You_ were the pokémon that trapped the one from the Waterfall Legend?!"

They nodded ashamedly. "That was the crime we did to get punished with nursing duty… Though, I guess now that I'm used to it, it's not so bad…" Azelf was trying hard to seem cheerful, but Blue could tell she was just as disappointed as her sisters. "But in the whole career, we only had one Code 909. Sometimes I wish we could meet more people…"

"Don't worry; you will." Blue grinned, an idea forming in his mind. "But how about you show me this Waterfall Legend first…?"

* * *

"This is it?"

"This is it." Mesprit's voice was barely audible over the thunderous pounding of water against the rocks below. She soared up to the roof of the cavern; her sisters close behind. "But she jumps the cliff at random, so I have idea where she is now."

Blue nodded, prepared to wait. After all, a few hours were nothing compared to the years he had spent biding his time already. As he settled down on a polished stone, he began to take in the surroundings. Pale white trees grew from cracks in the rock floor, and sparkling Diglett and Sneasel ran about underneath them. Giant stalactites hanging from the ceiling reflected sunlight and the shadows of the green Zubat flying around them. It was like an underground world, and even the cracked walls held ancient beauty. But the most magnificent feature of the room was the waterfall.

A long river snaked through the upper level of the cavern; its water as crystal clear as the carbon icicles above. A steep slope made for a fast, final turn, where the rushing stream met only open air. It kept going; pouring over the cliff to fall to the pool below in a drumming cacophony that soon became all that Blue could hear. "It's amazing," he breathed.

"Isn't it." Uxie smiled sadly. "But this place is too small for her. We always knew it would come to this; only a trainer can let her see the world…" The Wisdom Pokémon wiped away a tear. "We may have been young and spiteful, but we had no idea Tina was capable of such a curse…"

Azelf shook her head, staring out at the falls. "And we would never have asked Giratina to destroy her precious dream if we had known we'd have to take care of her… It's been a while since I've been here. She must have been pretty lonely… Aah! I see her!"

"What? Where?!" Blue stood, cranking his neck to peer at the top of the cliff. "I don't see anything!"

Mesprit and Uxie lifted him by the arms, carrying him closer to the bottom. "Our sister has better eyes than any of us, and she can also sense the pokémon's willpower. If Azelf says she's there, she's there. Hmm… Just stand right here," Mesprit said, dropping her side of Blue into the pool's shallows. "If you are her destined trainer, something good will happen… I think."

The Champion gulped, stumbling up against the flow of the current. He had anticipated this moment for years, but now that it had finally come, he felt almost too jittery to stand. …Come to think of it, he didn't even know what the pokémon looked like! He didn't know how it behaved, or even what mysteries its PokéDex entry would resolve. And what if it didn't like him, and wouldn't even let him catch it?!

"Gyaaaah!" A monstrous roar broke through his cluttered thoughts and left a faint ringing in his ears. Mouth dropping open, Blue stared up at the waterfall. A fifty-foot drop stood between the cliff edge and Blue's pool, but nothing had stopped a lone figure from flinging itself from the top. The boy stared, transfixed, as the creature fell nearer and nearer… He was too spellbound to contemplate the size and the distance from which he was viewing; the pokémon streaming and surfing through the falling water was so mystifying that he was unable to think about anything else.

He could hear Azelf twittering something behind him, but the words were all a jumble. The red object was looming closer, closer…

**THUD.**


End file.
